God and republicans move in mysterious ways. At about the same time as the Balcombe Street prisoners joined Gerry Adams on stage in the RDS yesterday, delegates at the National Charismatic Renewal Conference next door were blessing each other with the gift of "interior peace".
The parallels between the charismatic conference and the Sinn Fein Ardfheis were uncanny. Hands raised euphorically, stamping feet and claustrophobic bear hugs were the order of the day. When delegates weren't spouting familiar doctrine they were speaking in tongues. Everyone seemed to be preaching to the converted.
Father Pat Collins, a Dublin-based Vincentian priest, was jubilant. "Sinn Fein are providentially right beside us this morning," he told the 2,000-strong crowd. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness used to give him the "sickener" whenever he saw them on television, he said. He became a convert, he said, when God told him to pray for Gerry Adams. "The Sinn Fein delegates are in there fighting a battle today. Our King, Our General is Lord of their conference."
As a decidedly funky version of the hymn He is Lord struck up, a blonde woman in the front row began doing a version of the cancan and speaking incoherently. The "spontaneous praise" - as Father Collins called it - built to a crescendo which ended with several people speaking in tongues although the resulting "Oh sha, la, la, Oh, sha la" was more Supremes than spiritualised.
Earlier Father Bob Faricy, a preacher and retreat master, had overseen a session during which charisms (gifts) were released by God into a chosen few. "If you feel a tingling in your hands sit down," he said. Some stood staring at their digits willing them to tingle. Father Faricy bellowed encouragement: "Someone called Ambrose is supposed to sit down."
One fortunate woman in a green tank top and checked shirt returned to her seat seconds into each session: by the end she had gifts of prophecy, missionary and grace.
According to organiser Ms Dympna Sheehan, the emphasis for this year's conference was on "unity and reconciliation". The theme could be seen in a testimony given by a former UVF paramilitary who is now, said Ms Sheehan, "working for the Lord".
During breaks, delegates perused a book stand bearing such publications as The Angry Christian, Why Am I Afraid to Love and Ready, Steady, Grow.
"The Lord is working in mighty and magnificent ways, it is encouraging and enriching," said conference participant Mr William O'Connor from Mayo.
Canteen workers in the RDS appeared bemused. "The only thing we have that's holy is our doughnuts," said one.